What does First B Jackson teach about reconciliation?
Drawn from the messages where it was actually addressed: the words said from the front, the passages taught, and where to hear the whole thing.
At First Baptist Jackson, the teaching on reconciliation starts with what Christ actually accomplished on the cross. Ted Ravenold, drawing from Colossians 1:19-20, made the case that most Christians think of reconciliation only as the restoration of their relationship with God, but that is only one third of what happened. Christ's blood addresses three broken relationships at once: man to God, man to man, and man to creation, all three of which existed before the fall and all three of which the cross reaches.
The practical weight of that teaching shows up most clearly in the messages Pastor Ray and Pastor Brian preached through steps eight and nine of the twelve steps. Both men pressed on the same point: Jesus does not allow religious activity to stand in for relational repair. In Matthew 5:21-26, Jesus raises the standard well above the law's prohibition on murder, saying that anger and contempt toward a brother already put a person before the court, and that if you remember your brother has something against you while you are bringing your offering to the altar, you leave the offering, go be reconciled first, and then come back. The offer at the altar does not count for much if the relationship is left broken.
Step nine adds the honest complexity that reconciliation is not always a simple transaction. Making direct amends wherever possible means wherever doing so would not cause further harm, and both Pastor Ray and Pastor Brian were clear that this caveat is not a loophole but a genuine pastoral question requiring prayer, discernment, and often the help of a trusted person who can think it through with you. Pastor Jason's earlier message from 2 Corinthians 2 frames what is at stake: forgiveness and reconciliation in the body are not optional extras, because unforgiveness is precisely the lever Satan uses to fracture the unity that Jesus prayed for the night before He went to the cross.
Taught from Colossians 1:19-20 · Matthew 5:21-26 · 2 Corinthians 2:5-11 · 1 John 1:9 · Romans 12:18
The passage taught · Colossians 1:19-20
19 For all the fullness was pleased to dwell in him;
20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself, by him, whether things on the earth, or things in the heavens, having made peace through the blood of his cross.
World English Bible
The messages that teach on it
- October 6, 2024 Free Knowledge Missionaries Ted and Kim Ravenold share how farming, discipleship, and the reconciling power of Christ's blood are transforming lives in rural Tanzania.
- September 22, 2024 Direct Amends Wherever Possible A Wyoming pastor walks through Step 9 of the 12 steps, showing from Matthew 5 how making amends and seeking reconciliation is rooted in the teaching of Jesus.
- September 22, 2024 First Be Reconciled to Your Brother Step 9 of the 12 Steps calls us to make direct amends. A pastor and peacemaker Ken Sandy share why reconciling broken relationships can't wait.
- August 16, 2015 Behold How Good and Pleasant It Is Paul's letter to Corinth shows how forgiveness restores unity in the church body, while Jesus prays the same thing for believers in John 17.
Mentioned along the way
- February 2, 2020 Forgiven People Forgive People A Wyoming pastor walks through biblical forgiveness: what it costs, why we avoid it, and how God's grace makes it possible to finally let go.
- February 2, 2020 Forgiving People Forgive People A Wyoming pastor walks through forgiveness step by step, from taking honest account of sin to making the choice to let go, rooted in Hebrews 12:14-15.
- January 8, 2017 The Whole Enchilada of Philemon The pastor walks through the entire book of Philemon, one chapter, exploring Paul's appeal to a slave owner to receive a runaway slave back as a brother in Christ.
- November 1, 2015 But God Paul's letter to Corinth shows how godly grief leads to repentance and salvation, while worldly grief leads only to death. A study in 2 Corinthians.
- October 4, 2015 Today Is the Day Pastor Ray walks through 2 Corinthians 5-6, showing that Christ reconciles people to God through the cross, and that today is the day to respond.
- October 4, 2015 Now Is the Day of Salvation A pastor weaves memories of a feared grammar teacher and Jonathan Edwards into Paul's call in 2 Corinthians 5 and 6: today is the day of salvation.